The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving
The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving is an award-winning 1993 animated film directed by Roy Allen Smith, and the third installment in the ''Land Before Time'' film series. The plot focuses on Littlefoot and the other main characters dealing with three bullying adolescent dinosaurs, and the entire community of the Great Valley struggling to overcome a draught which has been brought on by a fallen meteorite blocking the water in the Thundering Falls. The film was very well-received by the public, and was subsequently re-issued several times since its first video release, along with being featured on several television channels for many years. Voice Actors English Voice Cast *Scott McAfee as Littlefoot *Candace Hutson as Cera *Heather Hogan as Ducky *Jeff Bennett as Petrie/Mutt/Iguanodon *Rob Paulsen as Spike/Kosh *John Ingle as the Narrator/Topsy *Linda Gary as Grandma Longneck/Mother Quetzalcoatlus *Whit Hertford as Hyp *Nicholas Guest as Hyp's Father *Tress MacNeille as Spiketail/Mama Swimmer/Mama Flyer *Frank Welker as the Fast Biters *Scott Menville as Nod *Kenneth Mars as Grandpa Longneck Japanese voice cast *Minami Takayama: Littlefoot *Rica Matsumoto: Cera *Satomi Kōrogi: Ducky *Yūji Mitsuya: Petrie *Sailor King: Spike *George Nakata: Topsy *Urara Takano: Petrie's Mother Note: The Japanese voice actors are appearing so far. Plot Littlefoot and his friends are constantly being bullied and browbeaten by three teenagers - Hyp, a Hypsilophodon; Nod, a Nodosaurus; and Mutt, a Muttaburrasaurus. Meanwhile, when a shower of meteorites impacts near the Great Valley and causes a rock slide in the Mysterious Beyond, which blocks the Thundering Falls, the main water supply of the Great Valley, the increasing lack of water causes conflicts between the inhabitants of the Great Valley. To bring an end to this problem, Littlefoot and the others set out to find water, unaware that Hyp and his cohorts are following them. When the gang find a small lake, the teenagers emerge and claim it for themselves, demanding that Littlefoot and the others keep silent about their discovery. Unwilling to comply, Littlefoot and the others flee from the bullies; during which they wander into the Mysterious Beyond and find out what caused the Thundering Falls to stop flowing. Before they can return and inform the residents of the valley, a lightning strike ignites a wildfire that spreads rapidly through the dried Valley. The dinosaurs barely make it to safety at the edge of the Mysterious Beyond while the fire ravages their home. When the protagonists tell the other dinosaurs of their discovery, disunity about what to do prevents the adult dinosaurs from taking any steps towards solving the problem. Hyp, Mutt, and Nod set out into the Mysterious Beyond on their own to get to the water first. Anticipating the danger to which Hyp and his cohorts have exposed themselves, and recognizing commonality with them, Littlefoot and the others follow them, in order to help if necessary. As they arrive, Hyp becomes trapped in a tar pit he mistook to be a pool of water. Littlefoot and the others pull him out of the tar by combined effort. Soon afterwards, the adult dinosaurs appear in search of their offspring, and are brought together by the understanding that it was the unity of their children that helped them to find water. It is implied during the discussion thereof that Hyp's own experience of harsh treatment by his father is the cause of his harshness toward others, and implied later that being treated kindly improves the temperaments of Hyp and his sidekicks. Before they are able to take further steps, the herd is attacked by a pack of Sharpteeth. During the battle between the herd and the attackers, Littlefoot and Hyp's gangs join sides, and manage by chance to clear the blockage of rocks stopping the flow of water into the valley. They watch as the water flow washes the Sharpteeth away. The herbivores return to the Valley, which now has enough water for them, although the fire has destroyed most of the plants on which they feed. Working together, the dinosaurs survive the time until the plants start to grow again by feeding on the last remains of the plants, moving from one verdant area to another and sharing everything they find; a behavior which leads them to label this time "The Time of the Great Giving". Reception Analysis Rod Gustafson of Parent Previews.com said that the back cover of the video for The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Fiving gave the impression that the movie was out to teach a lesson to both children and parents, about cooperation. He also said that the movie seemed to put too much pressure on this point, and that the portrayal of the kids having the solutions to the crisis, though hardly a unique plotline, could reinforce children that it is useless to seek an adult's help in a dire situation. However, Gustafson finally stated that the movie was a good children's film overall, and could stimulate good family conversations over the morals of teamwork.Rod Gustafson of Parent Previews.com's review of The Time of the Great Giving www.parentpreviews.com Retrieved on April 3rd, 2008. Richard Scheib of Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review Database (www.moria.co.nz) said that the movie, while obviously set for children of a preschooling age, could teach a good lesson to children about the importance of sharing. He said that it also teaches about the effects of bullying and how it can be dealt with, as well as warning parents not to bully kids with authority. Although he described the songs as "banal", Scheib considered the characters to be well-developed and enjoyed the scenes involving the fight against the Velociraptor pack. He finally stated that he thought the third Land Before Time movie was arguably better than the original.Richard Scheib's review of The Time of the Great Giving on the Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review Database www.moria.co.nz Retrieved on April 3rd, 2008. Steve Rhodes, a frequent critic on the TLBT sequels, said in his review that the film, like the previous sequel, was formulaic, and the plot did not have much action, but just typical environmentalistc themes alongside the challenges of childhood when teenage tough guys and younger children collide with each other. Rhodes concluded that the film was a moderate choice for children's viewing, but for the whole family he would reccommend the original movie.Steve Rhodes of Internet Reviews on Rotten Tomatoes.com's review of The Time of the Great Giving http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/land_before_time_iii_the_time_of_great_giving/articles/742349/ Retrieved on April 3rd, 2008 Ratings The Time of the Great Giving, like many of its fellow sequels, received a 0% at Rotten Tomatoes.com.Rotten Tomatoes.com's synopsis for The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving www.rottentomatoes.com Retrieved on April 3rd, 2008. The movie has a current rating of 4.6/10 stars at IMDB.com, based on 828 votes.[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113596/ ''The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving] at the Internet Movie Database. Awards/Nominations In 1998 the film won its nomination for an Annie Award for Best Home Video Production.The Annie Awards Ceremony of 1996, at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on January 15th, 2009. It also received a nomination that same year for a Saturn Award, for Best Genre Video Release, but lost the award to V: The Final Battle.''The Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films, USA: (Saturn Awards) Ceremony of 1996, at the Internet Movie Database. Retrieved on January 15th, 2009. Cultural Influence Merchandise ''The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving was originally released to VHS and laserdisc on December 15, 1995. On May 13th, 1997, it was released on VHS and laserdisc again; this time in The Land Before Time Collection. One year later, on December 1st, it was marketed in its final laserdisc release, as well as another VHS issue, on Universal Family Features. Three years later, on December 4th, the movie was released to VHS again. Its first DVD release was on December 10th, 2002. Its last VHS release, together with another one on DVD, occured on December 2nd, 2003, in the 4 Movie Dino Pack (Volume 1) and 9 Movie Dino Pack. The movie's most recent DVD release was on September 27th, 2005, in the 2 Dino-Mite Movies package. In 1995, Universal Studios published a book, simply titled "Land Before Time 3: Time of The Great Giving".Google Book Search page for "Land Before Time 3: Time of The Great Giving". Retrieved on January 19th, 2009. TV Airings After five months of disappearance on American television since March 2008, the film re-aired on Cartoon Network on September 2, 2008. The film aired on HBO Family for the first time ever on January 1, 2009, the same day the first two ones aired on HBO. Along with The Land Before Time V: The Mysterious Island, the film also aired on HBO for the first time ever on January 4, 2009, the same day the first two ones aired on HBO Family. United States * Disney Channel (1996-2004) * Toon Disney (1998-2004) * Cartoon Network (1998-2001, 2004-2008) * HBO Family (2009-present) * HBO (2009-present) Music Songs The songs are written by Michele Brourman and Amanda McBroom. *When You're Big *Standing Tough *Kids Like Us Soundtrack *If We Hold On Together (instrumental) Trivia * This movie marks the first time Topsy has a fight with a spiketail. *This was the first time Velociraptors have appeared in the Land Before Time series. Their appearance was most likely influenced by Jurassic Park, which was released two years prior. *This is the only film in the series in which Frank Welker was credited for voicing a Sharptooth. *Heather Hogan and Scott Menville (Ducky and Nod) would later work together in the 2004 Nintendo GameCube title, Tales of Symphonia. They played the main protagonists Colette and Lloyd respectively. Character debuts *Characters who later make reappearaces: **Hyp **Nod **Mutt **Kosh (known only as Mr. Clubtail at this point) **The Fast Biters (still called simply "Sharpteeth", at this point) *One-off characters: **Mutt's father **Hyp's father (although he is briefly seen in The Mysterious Island) *Species who make their first appearances in this film: **Chasmosaurus **Hypsilophodon **Nodosaurus **Muttaburrasaurus **Quetzalcoatlus **Iguanodon **Ankylosaurus **Velociraptor Memorable Quotes :Topsy: If you always rule with anger, that's all your son will know, and that's what he'll express to others. :Petrie: Me no baby! Me big! :Hyp: Yeah, big baby. :Hyp: When you're big, you can do anything you want to do. All the rules that grown-ups make, they don't apply to you. :Ducky: Don't worry, Littlefoot. You're not a bad influence... whatever that is. :Cera: I don't understand, Daddy. :Topsy: You need friends who know how to behave, especially in times like this. :Cera: Littlefoot is my friend. He'll always be my friend. :Topsy: Cera, I'm your father. I want what's best for you. :Cera: No, you don't! You just don't want me to have any fun! :Topsy: Cera, please. I'm just trying to... to... as a parent I - ooh! (storms off) :Petrie: Hey, me want to play Bullies too! "Hey hatchling! You no eat MY green food!" spits water at him Hmph! Me go play Bullies somewhere else! :Hyp: There they are and look what they found for us. :Mutt: laughing Yeah. :Nod: laughing Yeah! :Mutt: What is it? :Hyp: Hi-yah, hatchlings! Say, "Bye bye, water"! :Ducky: Why? Is it going somewhere? :Hyp: No, but YOU are! :Nod: This is our water now. :Mutt: So give it back! :Petrie: Give back? But it already in my tummy. :Ducky: But do you not want to share? :Hyp: We don't share with anybody, do we? :Mutt: Uh, no. Nuh-uh! :Nod: Nobody. :Hyp: So I'm warning you, small fries, if you tell anybody else about this water, you'll be very, very, sorry! :Littlefoot: We're telling and you better not try and stop us. :Topsy: I have a plan. :Ankylosaurus: I hope it's better than your escape plan! :Littlefoot: If you struggle more, you'll only sink faster! :Ducky: Petrie, you are a flyer, not a swimmer. :Grandma Longneck (to Mr. Threehorn and Mr. Clubtail): Stop! You're acting like children. :Petrie (a short distance away): Ha! We no act like that. Gallery References External links * [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0113596/ The Land Before Time III: The Time of the Great Giving] at the Internet Movie Database. * Video Trailer at Video Detectives. Category:Land Before Time Movies